An Okie teacher banished to the Midwest.
"Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire."-- William Butler Yeats

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Update: An 8-year-old, the law and gall

According to the Arizona Republic newspaper, the case in which an out-of-control 8-year-old girl was taken to school in handcuffs by her mother and then forced to take her medication continues to have repercussions. The principal, Cherri Rifenberg, has resigned for her part in restraining the girl and forcing her to take her medication. No action has yet been taken on the fate of the school psychologist.

Once again, the kids watching were traumatized, and the girl was restrained twice in handcuffs. No one seems to be questioning the decision of the mother to take a human cyclone and dump her off on the school and her classmates.

What made this woman think, "Hmm, my child is so out of control I've had to call 911 and have her handcuffed. I think taking her to a place of learning is a good idea?"

I hold that it is NOT the right of the mother to use the school as a holding pen or dumping ground. Schools are not psychiatric facilities. They are supposed to be places primarily dedicated to learning. This little girl not only could not learn that day, she attacked others and ran out into traffic. Where the school officials erred was letting this woman in the door with her handcuffed child.

Read the article and the posted comments below the article-- it is all thought-provoking. One person claims the mother had taken this child to school in a similar condition several times and dumped her off on the school.

What's On the Bookshelf? (And stacked on the floor, and in the loo, and next to my bed, and in my backpack....)

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

The Stripping of the Altars, by Eamonn Duffy

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher

The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde

Columbine, by Dave Cullen

The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins

Here, Bullet, by Brian Turner

Random Thoughts

"Read-ity read read read."-- The Ramblin' Educat

"Personally, I think for democracy to exist, opposition is key. History seems to bear that out. One sign you're doing a good job is when the only argument the extablishment can muster is "shut up" and variations on that theme.-- NYC Educator

"The only thing worse than having no taste is having no shame."-- via Mamacita

"The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse is because you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery & Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment."-- Molly Ivins (via Mike in Texas!)

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."-- Dean Wormer, Animal House

"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."-- John Steinbeck